There was always something strange about Mabel Waller. As a child, she was bigger than average, socially awkward, friendless, caught up in her own imagination, and desperate for affection. Then, there was the fact that the people close to her tended to end up injured or dead. When she became the youngest Australian ever to be convicted of murder, her fate as "Mad Mabel" was sealed. A monster like her was surely insane. Or was she?

Now 81, Mabel has become Elsie Fitzpatrick, an unassuming pensioner who has lived on the same quiet Melbourne street for 60 years. Other than an ongoing feud with her nemesis-neighbor, the irascible Elsie leads an unremarkable life. No one would ever guess she's a notorious criminal, possibly even a serial killer. When her nemesis winds up dead, Elsie's real identity is leaked, and suddenly she finds herself in the spotlight once again. Desperate to clear her name, she decides to tell her story for the first time ever to two young podcasters. As she divulges secrets from the past, deals with an angry public, and tries to fend off the unwanted attention of the 7-year-old "irritating little despot" next door, Elsie discovers—to her great surprise—that Mad Mabel has more friends than she thinks. Daring to care, however, has made her vulnerable. Will she lose everything she loves when she finally spills the truth about what she's done?

I'm a big Sally Hepworth fan, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed her newest thriller, Mad Mabel. The book is a little darker than her others, but it's also humorous, poignant, and heartwarming. Mabel's childhood and adolescence are so horrible that it's impossible not to pity her, even now that she's an old woman. Her sharpness—a defense mechanism if I ever saw one—makes her funny and appealing. Even though she's sarcastic and acerbic, I loved her from the start. Elise/Mabel becomes especially likeable as she opens her heart to the irrepressible Persephone. Their friendship is my favorite part of the story.

Mad Mabel is a character-driven novel, but there's plenty going on in the story to keep the reader turning pages. Hepworth spins the plot out in a way that gradually ups the tension, making it a suspenseful, engrossing read throughout. I did see one of the big plot twists coming from a mile away, but the one at the end caught me by surprise. (Funny enough, I read this book twice in a 6-month period and I still didn't see that last twist coming!) Although not all of my questions about Elise/Mabel were answered at the end of the novel, I still found its ending satisfying. In spite of some sad, dark content, Mad Mabel is actually a pretty warm, uplifting book. I loved it. 

(Readalikes: Reminds me a little bit of A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman)

To the FTC, with love: I received an e-ARC of Mad Mabel from the generous folks at St. Martin's Publishing Group via those at NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!